Matt Harlin DPE Checkride Gouges

Oral Emphasis

Matt's instrument oral is heavily weighted toward regulations, currency, and weather. Pilots reported extensive questioning on instrument currency requirements (the "six hits" rule), what happens when currency lapses, IPC requirements and where to find them, and safety pilot qualifications — including edge cases like an invalid medical. He also spent significant time on chart and approach plate symbology, weather products (AIRMETs, NOTAMs, fog types, icing), and lost comms procedures.

• Currency & Recency: 66 HITS, what to do after 12 months lapse, who can give an IPC, what the IPC consists of, and where to find the regulatory requirements.
• Safety Pilot: How to verify they're current, and a scenario involving an expired medical but otherwise current safety pilot.
• Chart Symbology: Underlined VOR frequencies, "R" next to a VOR frequency, mileage break markers ("bumper plates") on airways, MEA boxes under airways, flag-with-cross fix symbols, T-routes, and DME from a navaid.
• Weather: AIRMET types (Sierra, Tango, Zulu), validity periods, fog types (advection vs. radiation and which is more likely at a coastal airport), icing types (rime vs. clear — where they form), frost on wings and its implications, carb ice formation, and flight-into-known-icing rules.
• Approaches & Lost Comms: VOR, RNAV, and ILS approach plates were discussed. He posed a lost comms scenario involving going direct to an IAF marked NoPT, referencing the AVEF/AME memory aid.
• Navigation & Planning: Nav log preparation, how you derived true course (ForeFlight vs. paper chart), cruise GPH source, altitude selection rationale, required equipment, and CRAFT clearance copying.

Common Questions

Pilots reported that Matt asks scenario-driven and "what if" style questions rather than pure rote recall. Examples include:

• What happens if your safety pilot has a current certificate but their medical is no longer valid — can you still fly?
• If you find frost on the wing during preflight, can you legally depart?
• If an AIRMET Sierra is active, does that prohibit your flight?
• What can you use for instrument currency — can any simulator count, and what documentation does it need?
• How do you handle lost comms when cleared direct to an IAF that says NoPT?
• What is OROCA and what must be true about your GPS to use it for navigation?

Practical Focus

The gouge focused primarily on the oral portion. Approach types discussed for the flight included VOR, RNAV, and ILS procedures. Pilots should be prepared to brief and fly all three and to copy ATIS and clearances under realistic conditions.

Examiner Style

Matt appears to be methodical and thorough. He works through topics in a logical sequence — starting with privileges and currency, moving through planning and charts, then into weather and approaches. His questioning style leans conversational but probing: he'll set up a scenario and then peel back layers with follow-up questions (e.g., asking about currency, then what happens when it lapses, then who can restore it, then what that process requires). Pilots should be ready for a detailed oral that doesn't skip over edge cases.

What Surprised Pilots

• The depth of chart symbology questions caught some pilots off guard — know your IFR en route chart legends cold, including less obvious features like mileage break markers and the meaning of underlined frequencies.
• The safety pilot medical scenario was a curveball — it's a nuanced reg question that many pilots don't think through beforehand.
• Matt asked specifically about simulator requirements for currency, including what documentation (letter of approval) the device needs — not just whether a sim "counts."